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“You’re not going to die.”

“Yes, I am, and it’d be nice if you could just accept it.”

“I’m not going to just fucking accept it, Ember.”

“You’re going to have to. I did.”

He gritted his teeth, his hands balled into fists, and he stormed toward the forest.

“Where are you going?” I called.

But he was already tugging off his shirt and tossing it behind a tree. The muscles in his back grew, as if he were about to shift and run, but suddenly, they went back to his normal human size, and he paused.

“Hey, Cade. Is Ember around?” Hazel said, walking through the forest toward the clearing right before the house.

Cade peered back at me, then captured Hazel’s wrist and pulled her to the side, telling her something, but not loudly enough for me to hear. When she smiled back, the paintbrush snapped in half between my fingers.

What is he telling her? Why is she smiling like that? Does he like her?

“Okay, sounds good!” she said, giggling as the rage built up inside me. “I’ll see you then.”

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Ember

“Hey, girl,” Hazel said, bouncing up the backyard toward me.

With my hand wrapped tightly around a new brush, I dipped it into paint and began dragging it across the canvas. For wanting another commission so badly, I sure couldn’t get this goddamn thing right.

It wasn’t my fault either. It was Davix’s and Cade’s.

Stupid wolves for being stupid.

Hazel sat on the back porch and leaned her head on her hand. “Why’re you so angry?”

“I’m not angry.”

“Sure looks like it,” she said.

But I couldn’t tell her it was because she had been over there, giggling with Cade and telling him she’d meet him somewhere later.

Where is she going? Why did he ask her right in front of me? Was it to make me jealous?

I growled to myself and shook my head.

It didn’t matter because I couldn’t care. This was what I wanted. I couldn’t know that I was going to die soon and then just expect Cade to only be with me and only me. That wasn’t fair to anyone.

My brush snapped between my fingers.

“Girl, this is the second brush you snapped in half,” Hazel said, taking it from my hands, along with the one I had dropped into pieces on the ground. “You’re totally angry. What’s going on? You good?”

“It’s your stupid brother,” I said, lying straight through my teeth.

Well, it wasn’t a total lie.

I still needed to see that asshole after he ran out of my bedroom.

“Ugh.” She rolled her eyes. “He’s the worst.”